Coal terminal siting shows 'no need' to harm reef

The Capricorn Conservation Council (CCC) says the announcement of another coal terminal in Gladstone in central Queensland shows there is no need for developments in other parts of the coast.

Brisbane company, Tenement to Terminal, says it wants to build an export facility at Yarwun, next door to the Wiggins Island coal port, and open it by 2017.

CCC spokesman Ian Herbert says there is room for more coal facilities in the already developed Gladstone Harbour.

He says there is no need to spoil pristine sites like the mouth of the Fitzroy River.

"There is no need to expand coal terminals into the Fitzroy Delta and Keppel Bay when there is still room for expanded coal terminals in Gladstone," he said.

"This supports what the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority have also been saying.

"They don't want to see the Great Barrier Reef threatened by a plethora of ports every 100 kilometres up the Queensland coast."

Greenpeace say the announcement of a new coal terminal in Gladstone is a slap in the face for a United Nations' delegation investigating the impacts of industrial development on the Great Barrier Reef.

Greenpeace spokesman John Hepburn says the timing of the announcement is strange.

"This is an unbelievable slap in the face to UNESCO," he said.

"The day before they arrived in Gladstone Harbour to inspect damage to the World Heritage area from coal ports and LNG [liquefied natural gas] ports, the coal industry's announcing yet another coal export port in Gladstone.

"It's an industry that's spiralling out of control, it's unbelievable that they'd be so brazen to do it."